First time driving in snow!!!!! - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

teddyd49 · #1 12-16-2008, 11:16 AM

Got a tip several years ago from my mechanic, and it works like a charm for my own 82 240D sedan in snow....I have LOTS of snow/ice in NW Connecticut during winters......

Go to local Agway Store and purchase several (2-3) 70LB sand tubes and place them in your trunks up against back end of trunk....this will significantly IMPROVE driving in snow/ice for these cars that have a tendency to fishtail on the backend because of lack of weight in the rear.....

WORKS LIKE A CHARM....for about $20-$30 investment OR get some sand bags and fill em with sand yourself and put into trunk of car but if bags break, it can get very messy (like your bathing trunks at the beach!)....

JordaanDMC-12 · #2 12-16-2008, 12:24 PM

I can totally see what you mean, when you say it's fun the first time but the snow gets old real fast. When they closed the 62 fwy to get back down the huge hill, there was a line of cars, trucks, big rigs and a convoy sitting for hours, not moving at all. My friend and I were saying how much it would suck if you had a important job on the desert floor and couldn't get down. There was highway patrol all over the place, I imagine accidents are worse here because the population is not accustomed to snow, especially that much.

I was only really excited because we hardly get any rain here in the desert, let alone snow 20 miles away. It was a pretty rare event for the high desert and I'm glad I was there. I'm probably going to go back up today with my sister to take her to the snow, she was all depressed yesterday that she was still asleep when I left.

I'm sure most of it's melted and the roads are now clear. I'm really going to do that sandbag thing though next time. I didn't have anything in my trunk but the spare tire. Also the car had no problem starting in the cold.

showme · #3 12-16-2008, 12:52 PM

I agree with Kerry's idea of large, empty parking lots. That's the way to do it. I know I probably sounded harsh on your 'rain' post, Jordaan, but I can't help but think of how your dad would feel if the phone rang and it was bad news about you. On the other side of the coin, I remember when I was where you are now... And it was fun.

kerry · #4 12-16-2008, 01:12 PM

The best 2wd snow car I ever owned was a 1965 Corvair. With RWD and engine in the rear it was almost unstoppable. It's only problem was that it had a light front end with a large flat bottom to the front trunk. When the snow was over about 18 inches and you were driving at speed, the trunk would act like a toboggan and pick the whole front of the car up on the top of the snow. The only directional stability left would be the effects of the tires pushing against the snow since they no longer touched the road. It was still controllable but with great lack of precision.

JordaanDMC-12 · #5 12-16-2008, 05:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by showme

I agree with Kerry's idea of large, empty parking lots. That's the way to do it. I know I probably sounded harsh on your 'rain' post, Jordaan, but I can't help but think of how your dad would feel if the phone rang and it was bad news about you. On the other side of the coin, I remember when I was where you are now... And it was fun.

I understand, I made sure to keep them updated and didn't do anything crazy seeing on how it was first time in the snow, didn't want to worry them, and it was a residential area where I was at with all the snow.

I went back up with my dad this morning and came back about half an hour ago. The snow is already starting to melt and the roads are well clear. There was still lots of mushy, watery and dirty ice and my 240 got all dirty. I threw tons of snow all over the car so I could maybe get it back to the desert floor but it all melted haha

Well with all this crazy weather out of the way, I think

It's now going to be back to normal driving. I love my little 240D and can't stress enough of how much of a trooper it is. I have to go re-wash the under body wheel wells ect...

Stevo · #6 12-16-2008, 03:52 PM

LOL, You'll probably be starting "snow boarding" lessons

vwnate1 · #7 12-16-2008, 06:25 PM

So ;

How was the heater ? . SWMBO's cherry '82 240D has a killer heater , it's the manual one . my '80 300CD , less so , it has the Klima I HVAC in it and I've gone through every bit of it , when it's freezing the vents blow mondo heat but as soon as the interior warms up to 75° or so , it cycles down on both fan speed and outlet temperature , needsless to say this pisses me off greatly .

Oddly enough , the AC is _KILLER_ and easily keeps the inside temp @ 65° F even in the 125° F desert...

WTH ? .

I'm glad you didn't _slide_ all the way down Rt. 62 !

that's a nasty hill .

asnowsquall · #8 12-16-2008, 07:04 PM

My wagon doesn't have 100%, maybe more like 80%. Combine that with 4 Winterforce snowtires and its a tank in the snow. I'm not to crazy about subjecting it to the winter, but I pretty much had to. These cars are fine in the snow just get good snows.

Dave

JordaanDMC-12 · #9 12-17-2008, 12:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vwnate1

So ;

How was the heater ? . SWMBO's cherry '82 240D has a killer heater , it's the manual one . my '80 300CD , less so , it has the Klima I HVAC in it and I've gone through every bit of it , when it's freezing the vents blow mondo heat but as soon as the interior warms up to 75° or so , it cycles down on both fan speed and outlet temperature , needsless to say this pisses me off greatly .

Oddly enough , the AC is _KILLER_ and easily keeps the inside temp @ 65° F even in the 125° F desert...

WTH ? .

I'm glad you didn't _slide_ all the way down Rt. 62 !

that's a nasty hill .

My heater was working damn good up there in Yucca Valley(thankfully), to the point where I had to turn it off at times because the cabin was getting too hot lol. My A/C works, although I noticed it started declining in the coldness factor twords the end of the summer. It held up real well though which is cool. Yeah that hill always gets me, the speed limit up is 60 and I usually chug along at 35

Our hot weather sucks, I remember it being 10:00 at night and it being 110oF outside. I rolled the windows down and it was like a hair blow dryer in my face.. and those days where it's 125oF ugh, all you hear is air conditioning units.... vwnate if I may ask, where are you located? Are you in the valley?

pawoSD · #10 12-16-2008, 12:48 PM

Yep, stupid SUV and pickup drivers think they are immune to the conditions...I laugh every time I see one that has gone into the ditch or done some other stupid thing....

JordaanDMC-12 · #11 12-16-2008, 05:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pawoSD

Yep, stupid SUV and pickup drivers think they are immune to the conditions...I laugh every time I see one that has gone into the ditch or done some other stupid thing....

They were the worst! I guess the people didn't realize it was snowing because they were slipping and sliding all over the place lol

71inka02 · #12 12-16-2008, 05:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pawoSD

Yep, stupid SUV and pickup drivers think they are immune to the conditions...I laugh every time I see one that has gone into the ditch or done some other stupid thing....

I can't comment on pickup drivers --- But I most certainly will chime in when there's an attack of SUV drivers! For future reference please adjust your statement and thoughts

--- maybe something like "some stupid SUV..."

Sadly the majority of SUV drivers are under the impression (thanks to salesman telling them so, in order to close the deal) their vehicles are unstopable --- Sadly it's not true, no matter what you're driving you still gotta use common sense and caution......And most SUV drivers aren't trained on how to drive their vehicles in snow, ice, mud or any type of off road situation.

But for MANY of us SUV drivers --- we absolutely know what the h_ll we're doing! And part of that is due to the training and support REAL SUV manufacturers offer - for free!

Last winter during an 'up north' family vacation we encountered a major awesome snow storm --- I pushed thru 10 inches of virgin snow and ice, in the left lane maintaining 45 - 50 mph for over 2 hours, without issue - Part of the left lane drive was strickly a Land Rover 'show off, kiss my @ss kind of thing', but the other reason was to go around and keep away from the other cars, and the typical SUV driver!! Wife and kids looked up occasionally, and went right back to sleep, because of their knowledge of 'dads' driving in those conditions and their knowledge of the REAL SUV I own and drive!! There is a differance...whether some will publicly admit or not.....

Enjoy the below pics -
**A 'soccer mom' being trained in her new vehicle capablities!

And notice the 'clean' front wheel on these 2 disco's --- mine is the one on the right - we both busted wheels going thru a swamp and have no idea what was down there -- Could have been Hoffa's concrete wrapped body???

...you haven't lived till you layed in ankle deep mud changing your tire --- And the busted wheel is hanging in my garage -- A trophy to us REAL SUV drivers!!!

The W123's properly driven in snow are tanks and absolutely AMAZING!! That torque to weight ratio thing is great --

Not all SUV drivers are stupid or created equally ---

JordaanDMC-12 · #13 12-17-2008, 12:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 71inka02

Part of the left lane drive was strickly a Land Rover 'show off, kiss my @ss kind of thing', but the other reason was to go around and keep away from the other cars, and the typical SUV driver!! Wife and kids looked up occasionally, and went right back to sleep, because of their knowledge of 'dads' driving in those conditions and their knowledge of the REAL SUV I own and drive!! There is a differance...whether some will publicly admit or not.....

That's so awesome! Before I got my 86 300E I was soooo close to financing a Discovery. I love Land Rovers and do believe it is the true off road vehicle. I'm not putting down Jeeps, because we own one, but I do believe Land Rovers own the off roading world!

71inka02 · #14 12-19-2008, 01:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JordaanDMC-12

That's so awesome! Before I got my 86 300E I was soooo close to financing a Discovery. I love Land Rovers and do believe it is the true off road vehicle. I'm not putting down Jeeps, because we own one, but I do believe Land Rovers own the off roading world!

I'm very prejudice against other SUV's and other off-road vehicles...But I will publicly admit that the older model Jeep CJ 7's are an amazing off road vehicle...With the correct tire and suspension set-up -- They are GREAT. And as I've discovered - most 'informed' LR dude's will agree.

pawoSD · #15 12-19-2008, 01:31 PM

Between last night and about 20 mins ago we had about 13" of snow here.

I had no problems driving it it. I put about 200lbs of sand/salt in my trunk + all the other junk in there, and have good tires....I've yet to get stuck. Its all in how you drive and your tires. Some dumb person on my street apparently backed out of his space and got super stuck in our alley behind the house today, he tried to get it out, and has now left his car there, stuck, right in front of my entrance/parking space. I had no issues....when I get home later if his POS is still there I am dragging it out myself.

I have the 5000lb tow straps in the trunk.

You don't block a MB's parking space!